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Former Premier League referee Howard Webb has named former Liverpool forward Craig Bellamy as the most difficult player he dealt with during his career.

Webb, who nows provides analysis on key refereeing decisions for BT Sport, enjoys a chequered history with Liverpool fans, and the former police officer has risked alienating them further by choosing ex-Red Bellamy as the player who annoyed him the most during their games.

Asked which player gave him the most trouble during his 11-year career as a Premier League referee, Webb was quick to highlight former Wales international Bellamy.

"I think the Premier League player who gave me the most grief would be Craig Bellamy," Webb told the Daily Mirror.

Bellamy played for the Reds across two spells in 2006-07 and 2011-12

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"I struggled to gain a rapport with Craig. Again, being balanced, [he was] a great footballer and he might be a lovely kid away from the game, but on the pitch he was always quick with an opinion and didn't want to listen to yours so much and I found it quite difficult to gain a rapport.

"There are other players who you think might fall into that category. Players like Joey Barton and Robbie Savage who wore their heart on their sleeve but would actually enter into dialogue and I found that quite healthy and I was happy to referee those types of characters."

Webb, who refereed the 2010 World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands, is remembered by Reds fans for a number of controversial decisions that went against them during his career, and the Yorkshire official was even mocked up in a Manchester United kit by Ryan Babel after an FA Cup defeat five years ago.

Webb enjoys a chequered history with Liverpool fans

In a game that saw Steven Gerrard sent off, Webb awarded United a penalty inside the first minute at Old Trafford as Sir Alex Ferguson got one over on a returning Kenny Dalglish in January 2011, and a furious Babel let his frustration out on Twitter.